UPDATE: Sarasota County to take over Venice 911 dispatch center

Published: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 9:45 p.m.

VENICE - The city's police dispatch service will be taken over by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office under a tentative plan approved by the City Council on Tuesday.

The vote was unexpected; the agenda called for the council to authorize the city manager to further investigate a merger.

But council member Bob Daniels said the city had worked out the major issues and it was time to commit to the county's offer to provide dispatch service for free.

“What we ought to say is we accept the offer and move forward,” Daniels said, making a motion to do so. “We need to come up with an interlocal agreement on all the specifics.”

Sarasota County is building a more storm-resistant emergency response center in Sarasota. The Sheriff's Office, which will staff it, has made the same offer of dispatch service to North Port and Longboat Key, giving each municipality until May 19 to decide.

The North Port and Longboat Key commissions have instructed their police chiefs to do “due diligence” and make a recommendation. Operating out of the county's downtown administration building, the Sheriff's Office already handles all 911 calls for Sarasota Police and all the fire departments.

Venice officials have been concerned about laying off nine city dispatchers and the impact of losing the local touch that its own dispatchers provide, such as taking police reports and non-emergency calls in the middle of the night. The city has not decided how or if it will continue to provide those services.

The county asked for a commitment by May 19 so it can plan for increased capacity.

While the City Council vote for the deal was unanimous, concerns were raised by individual council members.

“There are an unbelievable amount of red flags," said council member Dave Sherman, who was skeptical about the “free” offer of dispatch service at the same time the Sheriff's office is removing its school resource officers from schools within the city limits of Venice and Sarasota. “We're looking at the carrot and not seeing the trap. I don't want to go ahead and make the deal and then get stuck.”

After a 90-minute debate and two failed motions on the wording, the council instructed the city manager to draft an interlocal agreement to have the Sheriff's office take over the emergency dispatching service. The council must approve the final agreement before the merger is sealed.

Under the current system, the county answers 911 calls but transfers them to Venice operators, who dispatch city police to accidents and robberies.

The consolidation would save the city about $500,000 and eliminate the call transfer. City Manager Ed Lavallee told the council that the sheriff recently agreed to hire the Venice dispatchers as long as they pass lie detector and background checks.

“From a financial standpoint it is a positive move,” Lavallee told the council. “It would erase the total cost of dispatch.”

Still, some council members expressed concern about moving too fast.

“I'm still not clear as to what we are giving up and is it significant,” said council member Kit McKeon.

Now city residents can go to the police station 24 hours a day and report a missing person because the dispatch operators are there to handle reports. Residents can also call a local number to report emergencies.

Another advantage to having dispatchers in Venice, supporters say, is that they are more familiar with the area and, therefore, better able to assist callers in emergencies.

Police Chief Tom McNulty said that philosophically he believes the dispatch should remain as part of the police department, but that he would go along with whatever the council decides.

“I understand free is free,” McNulty said. But “our citizens are used to coming into the Police Department and seeing someone there.”

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